Guest Editors:
Mostafa Nazari (Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran); std_mostafanazari@khu.ac.ir
Ismail Xodabande (Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran); ismail.kh.tefl@gmail.com
Sedigheh Karimpour (Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran); sedighehkarimpour1367@yahoo.com
I. Overview and Rationale for the Special Issue
Teaching is a stressful job that creates in teachers both positive and negative emotions. Teachers’ emotions could stem from a wide range of internal and external factors, including their own sense-making processes, interactions with students, institutional particularities, and sociocultural parameters. All of these factors could function as sites of experiencing both positive and negative emotions, and influence teachers’ professional practice, identity, agency, self-efficacy, and motivation. The current knowledge base of second language teacher education is paying focal attention to how emotions interact with other dimensions of teachers’ professional career as embedded in settings at which teachers are positioned (e.g., Barcelos et al., 2022; Nazari & Karimpour, 2022; Wolff & De Costa, 2017).
One such setting is the digital venues that have become a significant component of language teachers’ professional work. Although the COVID-19 pandemic is subsiding, teachers in many contexts have to work through various technology-related advancements, now and probably in the future. This form of teaching could also bring about new configurations and ramifications of/for teacher emotions (Song, 2022). More specifically, digital settings could position teachers in a vulnerable position in terms of developing adaptability to online teaching, enhancing their knowledge of digital technologies, and embracing technology as inseparable from teaching and learning (Nazari & Xodabande, 2020). Although vulnerability is not a new concept in teaching and teacher education (e.g., Gao, 2008; Lasky, 2005; Song, 2016, 2022), it has received inadequate attention in TESOL teacher education. Moreover, despite the prevalence of digital technologies that could function as a significant source of emotional vulnerability, the scholarship on language teachers’ emotional vulnerability in digital settings is underdeveloped. In response to this gap, the present special issue (SI) seeks research studies that report on language teachers’ emotional vulnerability in digital settings. Digital settings, as we understand it in this SI, involve both online and offline platforms that position teachers in an emotionally-vulnerable situation. We welcome contributions (i.e., research and review studies) from around the world on the following areas (NB: submissions from areas other than the following are welcomed as far as they relate to the theme of the SI):
Emotional vulnerability of language teachers in digital settings and:
Reflective practice BurnoutMotivationAgency Identity construction Emotion laborMultilingualism and multiculturalismTranslanguaging English-medium instruction Action research Professional development Social and cultural capitals English for academic and specific purposes
II. Information on submissions
Interested researchers are required to submit their abstracts (no more than 500 words) to std_mostafanazari@khu.ac.ir. The abstract must also involve a title page (author information, address for correspondence, and a brief biodata). We conduct two stages of submission processing. In the first stage, the abstracts are screened to ensure their suitability for the SI. In the second stage, the authors of accepted abstracts will be notified to submit their full paper through the journal website. It must be noted that acceptance of an abstract does not guarantee the acceptance of the full paper, as all the submissions will be reviewed by experts in the field.
III. Timeline for the SI
Deadline for abstracts: December 31, 2022
Notification of abstract acceptance: January 15, 2023
Submission of full paper: February 15, 2023
References
Barcelos, A. M. F., Aragão, R. C., Ruohotie-Lyhty, M., & Gomes, G. D. S. C. (2022). Contemporary perspectives on research about emotions in language teaching. Revista Brasileira de LinguÃstica Aplicada, 22, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1590/1984-6398202221654
Gao, X. (2008). Teachers’ professional vulnerability and cultural tradition: A Chinese paradox. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(1), 154–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate
Lasky, S. (2005). A sociocultural approach to understanding teacher identity, agency and professional vulnerability in a context of secondary school reform. Teaching
and Teacher Education, 21, 899–916. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2005.06.003
Nazari, M., & Karimpour, S. (2022). The role of emotion labor in English language teacher identity construction: An activity theory perspective. System, 107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2022.102811
Nazari, M., & Xodabande, I. (2020). L2 teachers’ mobile-related beliefs and practices: Contributions of a professional development initiative. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2020.1799825
Song, J. (2016). Emotions and language teacher identity: Conflicts, vulnerability, and transformation. TESOL Quarterly, 50(3), 631-654. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.312
Song, J. (2022). The emotional landscape of online teaching: An autoethnographic exploration of vulnerability and emotional reflexivity. System, 106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2022.102774
Wolff, D., & De Costa, P. I. (2017). Expanding the language teacher identity landscape: An investigation of the emotions and strategies of a NNEST. The Modern Language Journal, 101(S1), 76-90. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12370